2022 NFL Draft: Aidan Hutchinson reacts to Detroit Lions selecting him second overall

Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson won’t have to travel far as he begins his career in the NFL. The Detroit Lions ensured he will stay close to home by selecting the Wolverines standout with the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Speaking with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark shortly after his selection, Hutchinson expressed his gratitude toward the Lions as well as his excitement to get started.

“It’s great,” he said. “I’m happy I get to go back to Detroit. Go back to Motor City and hopefully get back to winning some ball games. I’m fired up. They just made a great decision.”

There had been reports all week long that the Lions were interested in taking Hutchinson, who told reporters that head coach Daniel Campbell had his number “on speed dial.” For a Detroit Lions team that ranked 30th in the NFL in sacks and 31st in third down defense, Aidan Hutchinson is certainly a welcome addition.

Hutchinson, who played in 43 career games at Michigan, was a consensus All-American in 2021 and a two-time All-Big Ten honoree. He was also twice named a captain of the team and has a laundry list of other awards he racked up following this past season. Hutchinson is the program record-holder for sacks in a single season, notching 14 for the Wolverines in 2021.

Stark also asked Hutchinson about the suit jacket he was wearing, which had a custom-made message on the inside courtesy of his mother. She used his manifestations journal to inscribe all the goals he set for himself from the beginning of his college career to the present day.

“Inside the suit jacket, my mom made it, it’s all my visualizations and manifestations from all my journaling the past five years,” Hutchinson explained. “We put it on both sides of the jacket. Stuff like, ‘I’m gonna be a first team All-American. I’m gonna be a Heisman finalist.’ And a lot of that stuff came true.”

Now on the Detroit Lions, it’s amazing to see all of the manifestations of Aidan Hutchinson come true.